Art is hot right now which is ideal timing for the annual Quarry Arts Centre Great Plate. The Great Plate has become an established event in Whangarei as the annual fundraiser for the Quarry Art Centre. Each year up to one hundred artists are invited to work their creative magic on a hand thrown ceramic plate - or in some cases a hand turned wooden plate or hand cast or blown glass plate. These transformed plates are then shown in an exhibition in the Yvonne Rust Gallery and auctioned on TradeMe.co.nz with funds going to support the Quarry Arts Centre.
There are no limitations or rules around what can be done with the plate which makes this event a little unpredictable and very exciting. In previous years artists have morphed the humble Great Plate into amazing pieces of sculpture, paintings, mobiles, and even spaceships. "We love the huge variety within the Great Plate exhibition, we feel so privileged to be supported by our community in this unique, creative way," says Art Centre Manager Ali Goodman.
While the Great Plate works as a fundraiser, there is the added bonus of exposure for participating artists and also potential for the public to snap up a unique artwork. The challenge, Quarry staff say, is narrowing your favourites down to just one or two...or even a dozen.
Great Plates can be viewed in Yvonne Rust Gallery, at the Quarry Arts Centre, from July 13 to 25. All 100 pieces are listed on TradeMe.co.nz from July 13, with auctions running for one week and generally ending in a bidding frenzy. This makes the end date July 19.
This year the funds raised will go directly into the kiln facilities at the Quarry, giving a greater range of firing opportunities for the entire community. We aim to install a gas fired kiln this coming year. The Quarry staff see this as a nice match - having handmade ceramic plates helping to raise funds to improve a community ceramic workspace and facilities.
